Suction cleaners suitable for use in swimming pools

ABSTRACT

In a suction cleaner for swimming pools and the like a sliding collar is provided around the suction nozzle. The collar hangs from the nozzle and rests on the floor. To accommodate unevenness of the floor the collar is articulated. For effective suction along the length of the nozzle, the suction outlet is connected to equal lengths of the nozzle by a manifold system. The nozzle is carried by a body with three wheels, the centre one of which is a castor wheel.

iinited States Patent [191 Kisiig 1 Sept. 4, 1973 SUCTION CLEANERS SUITABLE FOR USE IN SWIMMING POOLS [76] Inventor: Renaldo Ernst Kislig, PO. Box 809, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa [22] Filed: June 14, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 152,720

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 12, 1970 South Africa 70/4025 [52] US. Cl. 15/1.7, 15/359 [51] E04h 3/20 [58] Field of Search l5/l.7, 359, 360, 15/371 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,339,280 4/1920 Pack 15/359 X 1,778,935 10/1930 Cranmer 15/359 X 1,812,493 6/1931 Martinet 3,085,267 4/1963 Jacuzzi l5/l.7

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,948,070 9/1970 Germany 15/359 Primary ExaminerEdward L. Roberts Att0rneylrvin S. Thompson and Robert .1. Patch [57] ABSTRACT In a suction cleaner for swimming; pools and the like a sliding collar is provided around the suction nozzle. The collar hangs from the nozzle and rests on the floor. To accommodate unevenness of the floor the collar is articulated. For effective suction along the length of the nozzle, the suction outlet is connected to equal lengths of the nozzle by a manifold system. The nozzle is carried by a body with three wheels, the centre one of which is a castor wheel.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patentd Sept. 4,. 1973 3,755,842

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Sept. 4, 1973' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SUCTION CLEANERS SUITABLE FOR USE IN SWIMMING FOOLS This invention relates to suction cleaners for swimming pools and the like.

Cleaners suitable for connection to the suction side of a pump and for picking up very fine dirt usually have a straight nozzle supported a small distance from the surface to be cleaned by means of suitable wheels. The velocity of the sweeping water is a function of this small distance. If the distance is too great, the velocity may be too low to pick up very fine dirt. On the other hand, if the distance is too small, the suction nozzle cannot adapt to unevenness of the surface being swept and.

there is scraping and jarring.

An object of the invention is to provide a cleaner which keeps a very small distance from the floor of a pool to ensure a very high velocity path for particles of dirt lying on that floor.

According to the invention a suction cleaner comprises a nozzle, wheels supporting the nozzle for travel on a surface; means for connecting the nozzle to a source of suction and a handle for pushing the nozzle around on the surface, characterised in that the nozzle is provided with a mouth part which is adapted to telescope relatively to the nozzle in a direction transverse to the floor.

Preferably the mouth part is a collar encircling and depending from the nozzle, the collar being free to move up and down relatively to the nozzle to adjust to unevenness of the surface on which the body is travelling.

For uneven floors, the invention provides that the collar be articulated along its length so that different portions of it can move to different extents relatively to the fixed nozzle.

In the case of the preferred form of the invention the fixed nozzle cleans a wide swath. In such a case in order to obtain an equal pressure distribution along the length of the nozzle the invention provides that between the suction inlet and the nozzle there be a distribution path with branches from two to any required final number on the fixed nozzle. In a typical case the inlet would have two branches leading to a manifold with three branches into the nozzle, the two branches intersecting the manifold midway between adjacent branches into the nozzle.

In the preferred form of the invention also the cleaner has three wheels, a pair at each end of the nozzle and a third central wheel in the middle and spaced from the nozzle, which third wheel is a castor wheel.

To prevent damage to the sides of a pool the invention provides that on its outer sideways extremities the cleaner have guide wheels overlapping the extremities.

It is contemplated that for easy handling the cleaner of the invention will be made of a light-weight material such as plastics, resin-impregnated fibre glass or a light metal, suitably weighted, if needs be.

The invention is further discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which H0. 1 is a plan view of a cleaner according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of FIG. ll,

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cleaner of FIG. 1 with the front wheel removed,

FlGqd is an enlarged perspective view of a collar forming part of the cleaner of FIG. 1, and

. central bar 18 hangs on the chain 16. The bars 17 and FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail of the collar of FIG. 4.

The cleaner illustrated has a body 5 wheeled at three points. Firstly there are two ground wheels 6 at its sides. Secondly there is a castor or swivel wheel 7. A socket 8 for a stem is hinged on the body as shown in FIG. 2.

In front of the socket 8 there is an inlet 9 to which a suction hose may be attached. The inlet 9leads to a box 10 with two openings 11. The openings 11 lead to the suction nozzle 14. The inlet 9 is at the centre. The openings 11 are equally spaced from the inlet. The suction force is thus more or less evenly distributed over the length of the nozzle.

The nozzle 14 is designed to terminate short of the floor on which the wheels 6 run. Normally about half an inch clearance is sufficient. However, in some cases a greater clearance may be required. To ensure that the suction be applied close the floor, the nozzle 14 is fitted with a collar which is suspended from the nozzle by means of chains 15 and 16.

The collar is composed of two U-shaped bar members 17 connected together by central bars 18.

The bars 17 hang on the chains 15 while the front 18 are rebated to overlap and are hinged together by hinge pins 24. Each bar 17, 18 is formed with a groove 19 in which there may be accommodated a sealing rod 20 to prevent the entry of water between the collar and the nozzle 14. If the suction force is large, it has been found that the device works best without the sealing rod 20 as otherwise the device tends to stick to the floor. However with low or moderate suction the rod 20 is necessary.

At the ends of the nozzle 14 there are two sealing plates 21 slidable on the bars 17. The plates 21 are urged against the ends of the nozzlle 14 by small springs 22. Again for high suctions the plates 21 are dispensed with, but for low or moderate suctions are required to prevent the entry of water between the ends of the nozzle 14 and the collar.

Guide wheels 25 (of which the left hand one is cut away) on the ends of the nozzle 14 serve to keep the sides of the nozzle off the sides of a pool with vertical walls.

As described above the bars 17 hang on the chains 15 threaded through the nozzle top. The chains 15 serve to keep the parts together, or merely serve as hangers. The rear bar 18 simply hangs by virtue of its articulation. The front bar 18 hangs by the chain 16, which as appears from FIGS. 1 and 2 passes through the body 5 and hangs on a loop. At the top of the body 5 thereis a button 23. If large pieces of dirt such as insects, leaves or small stones are encountered, the device is lifted out of the water and the chain 16 hooked over the button 23. This clears the front bar 18 to a level to allow an object to enter through the centre of the nozzle. In an alternative construction, a further chain or a string connected to the chain 16 runs up the stem so that the operator can lift the front bar 18, as desired without lifting the device from the water. Some people prefer hooking the chain over the button and it is for this reason that the first alternative is provided.

It will be seen that the lower ends of the bars 17 and I8 hug the floor of a pool quite closely. In all practical cases the hugging is never so close that no dirt enters the nozzle 14. Indeed in practice it is found that fine dirt is sucked up very efficiently at a first pass and that very little is disturbed and suspended in the water above.

The illustrated embodiment has been designed for nominally smooth floors. For highly curved floors or for rough floors there may be many more bars of relatively short lengths, all articulated together. In the case of a curved floor the nozzle itself may have a curved underside to allow the end portions of the bars to ride up fairly high along it.

I claim:

1. A suction cleaner suitable for use in swimming pools and the like comprising a nozzle, a body carrying the nozzle, wheels supporting the body for travel on a surface, means for connecting the nozzle to a source of suction and a handle for pushing the body around on the surface, the nozzle having a collar encircling and depending from it, the collar being free to move in a direction transverse to the floor from a position of rest on the floor to a position beyond the lower end of the nozzle.

2. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 in which the collar seals against the nozzle.

3. The cleaner claimed in claim l in which the collar is articulated along its length so that different portions of it can move to different extents relatively to the nozzle.

4. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 in which the nozzle is long and narrow and the body has a distribution path for suction flow which branches from two to any required number of branches at the suction nozzle.

5. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 in which there are three wheels, a pair at each end of the nozzle and a third central castor wheel spaced from the nozzle.

6. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 including a pair of guide wheels at the ends of the nozzle.

7. The cleaner as claimed in claim 1, in which the collar has at its lower end a lateral skirt. 

1. A suction cleaner suitable for use in swimming pools and the like comprising a nozzle, a body carrying the nozzle, wheels supporting the body for travel on a surface, means for connecting the nozzle to a source of suction and a handle for pushing the body around on the surface, the nozzle having a collar encircling and depending from it, the collar being free to move in a direction transverse to the floor from a position of rest on the floor to a position beyond the lower end of the nozzle.
 2. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 in which the collar seals against the nozzle.
 3. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 in which the collar is articulated along its length so that different portions of it can move to different extents relatively to the nozzle.
 4. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 in which the nozzle is long and narrow and the body has a distribution path for suction flow which branches from two to any required number of branches at the suction nozzle.
 5. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 in which there are three wheels, a pair at each end of the nozzle and a third central castor wheel spaced from the nozzle.
 6. The cleaner claimed in claim 1 including a pair of guide wheels at the ends of the nozzle.
 7. The cleaner as claimed in claim 1, in which the collar has at its lower end a lateral skirt. 